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Impact of Audio-Visual Aids on Senior High School Students' Achievement

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 Eurasian J. Phys. Chem. Educ. 4(1): 46-54, 2012

journal homepage: http://www.eurasianjournals.com/index.php/ejpce

Impact of Audio-Visual Aids on Senior High School Students’ Achievement

in Physics

Richmond Quarcoo-Nelson1, Isaac Buabeng2, * and De-Graft Kwadwo Osafo3

1
Department of Science and Mathematics Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
2
Department of Basic Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
3
Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, Canada

Received: 12 September 2011 – Revised: 07 December 2011 – Accepted: 14 December 2011

Abstract
This study was aimed at finding out the impact audio-visual-aided instruction on students’ achievement in
physics at Cape Coast township of Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana. The study was a non-randomized pretest-
posttest group design. A total of 65 students in Senior High School (SHS) formed the sample for the study. The
students were fourth year science students from two purposefully selected co-educational SHS. The two selected
schools were randomly designated experimental and control groups respectively. A validated physics
achievement test instrument of a reliability coefficient of 0.76 was administered. Analysis of Covariance
(ANCOVA) and t-test statistics were used to test the two hypotheses formulated to guide the study at a
significance level 0.05. The results showed that SHS students taught with audio-visual aided instruction
performed better than those taught with traditional method. The mean achievement scores of both male and
female students improved significantly by the use of the audio-visual aided instruction. It was therefore
recommended that SHS physics teachers should explore the use of audio-visual-aided instruction to teach the
subject, physics.
Keywords: Audio-Visual Aids, Senior High School, Physics Achievement, Traditional Method

Introduction
According to Nacino-Brown, Oke and Brown (1985), for effective teaching to take
place, a good method must be adopted by a teacher. Teachers are aware that students learn in
different ways and have different ways of absorbing information and of demonstrating their
knowledge (Tamakloe, Atta, & Amedahe, 2005). Teachers employ a variety of teaching
strategies and methods to ensure that learners have equal opportunities to learn. It must
however be stated that teaching methodology in education is not a new concept in the
teaching and learning process. New methods and techniques evolve almost every day to
supplement existing ones in teaching. Notable among them is technology-supported ones.
Kochhar (2004) observes that more recently technology has been successfully
introduced in the field of education to make education more productive and more individual.
To Kochhar (2004), the most outstanding development in modern education is the increase in
the use of supplementary devices by which the teacher through the use of one sensory channel

*
Corresponding Author: Phone: +233 267777741 E-mail: ibuabeng@ucc.edu.gh
ISSN: 1306-3049, ©2012

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 Eurasian J. Phys. Chem. Educ. 4(1): 46-54, 2012

helps to clarify, establish and correlate accuracy, concepts, interpretation and appreciation,
increase knowledge, rouses interest and even evokes worthy emotions and enriches the
imagination of students. Researchers (see for example, Dale, 1996; Fillmore, 2008) have also
recommended that in education we should appeal to mind chiefly through the visual and
auditory sense organs since it is possible that 85% of our learning is absorbed through these
senses.
Science has been regarded as the bedrock of modern day technology. Countries all over
the world especially the developing ones like Ghana are making a lot of efforts to develop
technologically and scientifically. This has become necessary because the world is turning
“scientific”. And the situation in schools is no exception. At the core, we can say science
comprises three disciplines: Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Oguneleye (2002), as cited in
Oladajo, Olosunde, Ojebisi, & Isola (2011) stated that science, and for that matter physics, is
a dynamic human activity concerned with understanding the workings of the world. This
understanding, he says, helps people to know more about the universe. Without the
application of the discipline (physics), it would have been difficult for man to explore the
other planets of the universe. Investigations however, have shown that physics education is in
crisis as the number of students studying physics at all levels is declining rapidly (Fillmore,
2008; Smithers & Robinson, 2007). It has also been found that of all the sciences, physics is
the subject in which the increase in number involved has been particularly low (Barbosa,
2003; Donnellan, 2003). The reason may include lack of specialist physics teachers and the
perception that physics is a difficult subject (Buabeng & Ntow, 2010; Fillmore, 2008; Isola,
2010). Other researchers (see for example, Paas, Renkl, & Sweller, 2004; Prow, 2003) have
also reported that physics is a difficult subject to learn where maximum effort is required and
the resulting grade may not always reflect the effort that students have expended.
Studies have also revealed that the performance of students in physics in most African
countries was generally and consistently poor over the years (Oladajo, Olosunde, Ojebisi, &
Isola 2011; Osmosewo, 1999; Wambugu & Changeiywo 2008). Tamakloe, Atta, and
Amedahe (2005) observed that it is not all those who teach students that are considered in the
traditional sense as teachers. In their opinion, the teacher is the one who understands what his
or her students need to learn and their capabilities of learning. Thus the teacher must be able
to judge just how much intervention students will require in their learning activities. The
physics teacher is therefore supposed to be one who would facilitate the learning process of
learners. He/she ought to be a professional who will make use of any available resources to
enhance teaching and learning.
The use of audio-visual aids in education has been found to be an effective way of
communicating ideas and concepts to students (Le Doux, 1996; Ouellette, 2004). Literature
has also established that audio-visual-aided instruction has greatly improved the performance
of students in physics especially those with special needs and slow learners abilities (Aremu,
1992; Mitchell & Surprise, 1994; Okwo, 1994; Osokoya, 2007). However, many teachers in
Senior High Schools (SHS) in Ghana do not use audio-visual aids when teaching physics.
Although there are a few notable exceptions, others either feel these materials are
inappropriate for instruction or use them poorly. Some teachers find it quite complex to use
audio-visual aids to complement the traditional lecture method while others perceive the use
of it as waste of time.
With respect to instruction, students’ achievement and attitude towards learning,
research has not only proven the efficacy of technology related materials but has also found
the results to be overwhelmingly positive (Dabbagh, 2001). Teaching and learning with
audio-visual resources play an important role in the teaching-learning process. Students often
benefit from the visual/sound appeal of audio-visual material because it tends to focus their
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 Quarcoo-Nelson, Buabeng & Osafo

attention on the topic. When teachers present materials in various manners such as providing
students with both a summary statement and a chart on a given topic, the visual material
enhances the written materials. King (1990) indicated that audio-visual resources, wisely
selected and intelligently used, arouse and develop intense and beneficial interest and so
motivate students to learn; and properly motivated learning means improved attitudes,
permanency of impression and rich experience and ultimately more wholesome living.
Since most students consider physics as an abstract subject, the use of audio-visual
resources should be a requirement for every physics teacher if the aim of the teacher is to
guide the student to master concepts in the subject (physics). Quellette (2004) sums up
tenaciously that words may easily be forgotten but mental pictures will long be remembered.
It is therefore important to prepare illustrative materials and short demonstrations or other
visual materials which are effective means of helping students to understand and thereby
facilitating learning.
Objectives of the Study
The study sought to find out the impact of the use of audio-visual aids when it
complements the traditional lecture method on the performance of Ghanaian SHS physics
students compared to the use of only the traditional method. The following null hypotheses
were formulated to guide the study:
H01: There is no significant difference between the mean posttest achievement scores of
SHS students taught with audio-visual aided instruction and those taught through the
traditional approach.
H02: There is no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of (a) male
and (b) female students taught with audio-visual aids and those taught with
traditional method.

Research Methodology
Design
Quasi-experimental research design was adopted for the study. Specifically, the study
used non-randomized pretest-posttest group design. Quasi-experimental design was used
because intact classes were used instead of randomly composed samples (Oladejo, Olosunde,
Ojebisi, & Isola, 2011; Osokoya, 2007; Owusu, Money, Appiah, & Wilmot, 2010). The
diagrammatic representation of the design is shown below:
O1X1O2 Experimental group
O3X2O4 Control group
where
O1 and O3 represent pretest
O2 and O4 represent posttest
X1 represents treatment (audio-visual aided instruction)
X2 represents treatment (traditional method)

Sample and Sampling Technique

A total of 65 physics students in SHS formed the sample for the study. The students
were fourth year science students from two purposefully selected co-educational SHS in the
Cape Coast town of the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana. The two schools were the only co-
educational institutions in the Metropolis that offered physics as an elective subject at the time
of the study. The two selected schools were randomly designated experimental and control

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 Eurasian J. Phys. Chem. Educ. 4(1): 46-54, 2012

groups respectively. There were 35 students in the experimental group and 30 in the control
group. The researchers chose the fourth year students because they had treated almost all
major topics.
Instrument
The instrument used in this study was a self-designed Physics Achievement Test (PAT).
The PAT consisted of 40 objective multiple choice items with four options on the units used
in the study. Students were asked to choose the correct option from the four given options.
Out of the 40 items, 15 were drawn from selected topics in mechanics, 10 from current
electricity, eight from sound and waves and seven from atomic and nuclear physics. The
achievement test (PAT) was used to measure the pretest and the posttest of the experimental
and control groups.
The instrument was face-and content-validated by experts in the subject and Measurement
and Evaluation by adhering to the table of specifications. Kuder-Richardson 21 reliability
coefficient was used to establish the reliability of the instrument since items were scored
dichotomously (correct/incorrect). The reliability of the test was found to be 0.76. According
to Fraenkel and Wallen (2000), an alpha value of 0.7 and above is considered suitable to make
group inferences that are accurate enough.
Procedure
In this text, audio-visual aided instruction refers to a type of teaching where teaching or
learning aids that appear to the two most used senses – hearing and visual such as videos are
used to complement the traditional lecture method.
The non-randomized pretest-posttest design was used to collect data for the study. The
main treatment for the study was teaching using the traditional lecture and audio-visual aided
methods. The experimental group was taught the units used in the study with audio-visual
aids whereas the control group was taught the same units using the traditional lecture method.
The physics teachers in the selected schools were used for the teaching. In the control group,
the physics teacher delivered a pre-planned lesson to the students whereas in the experimental
group, the teacher was trained by the researchers on how to use the audio-visual aids. The
teaching of the topics lasted in each group for four weeks with three meetings per week for
the normal two period teaching times (80 minutes).
The validated physics achievement test was administered as a pretest before treatment
commenced. After teaching both groups the posttest was conducted with the same
achievement test (except that the order and question numbers were altered) to avoid guessing.
Intervening variables extraneous to the study such as group interaction and teacher effect were
controlled through the use of two different schools for the experimental and control groups;
and the presence of at least one of the researchers during instructional periods and days tests
were conducted.
Data Analysis
Inferential statistics were conducted to analyze the data obtained from the study.
Specifically, null hypothesis one was tested at p ≤ 0.05 significance level using analysis of
covariance (ANCOVA). The pretest achievement score was used as covariate. Null
hypothesis two was tested using independent samples t-test.

Findings
Students’ achievement based on instructional strategy – null hypothesis one
Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to investigate the efficacy of the
instructional strategies. Preliminary checks were conducted to investigate the assumptions of

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 Quarcoo-Nelson, Buabeng & Osafo

linearity and homogeneity of regression slopes, as these assumptions are very important as far
as the use of ANCOVA is concerned. Figure 1 is a simple scatter plot showing the general
distribution of the scores. It can be seen from the figure that a linear relationship exists
between the dependent variable (posttest) and the covariate (pretest). This means that the two
variables are related hence the covariate can be controlled.

Figure 1. A scatter plot showing the relationship between the dependent variable (posttest)
and the covariate (pretest)

The assumption of homogeneity of regression slopes was also investigated. The

information presented in Table 1 was used to check this assumption.

Table 1. Test of Homogeneity of Regression Slopes

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F p-value
Corrected model 7864.65 3 2621.55 77.43 0.000
Intercept 6710.37 1 6710.37 198 0.000
Instructional method 284.78 1 284.78 8.41 0.005
Pretest 2380.60 1 2380.60 70.31 0.000
Instr. method*pretest 0.060 1 0.060 0.002 0.967*
Error 2065.41 61 33.859
Total 332503.00 65
Corrected Total 9930.06 64
* Not Significant, p > 0.05

As indicated in Table 1, the significant level of the interaction term, method*pretest is

0.967 which is greater than the cut-off point, 0.05. Hence, the assumption of the homogeneity
of regression slopes is not violated. This supports the earlier conclusion obtained from the
scatter plot.

50
 Eurasian J. Phys. Chem. Educ. 4(1): 46-54, 2012

The main ANCOVA results are presented in Table 2. The task here is to find out if the
instructional strategies (treatments) are significantly different of their scores on the dependent
variable (posttest). As shown in Table 2, the p-value for the predictor variable (instructional
method) is 0.000 (which actually means p < 0.0005) which is less than 0.05; therefore the
result is significant. It can be seen that the total variation to be explained (SS T) was 9930.06
units (corrected total). Out of this figure, the amount of variation accounted for (SS M) by the
experimental manipulation was 7864.59 (corrected model) units of which the instructional
strategy accounted for 5185.52 units, equivalent to 71.5% (eta square). About only 2065.47
units (SSR) were unexplained (error).

Table 2. One-Way ANCOVA on Students Posttest Achievement Scores by Teaching Method

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F p-value Eta Square
Corrected model 7864.59 2 3932.29 118.02 0.000 0.792
Intercept 6734.21 1 6734.21 202.14 0.000 0.765
Pretest 2389.88 1 2389.88 71.74 0.000 0.536
Instr. method 5185.52 2 5185.52 155.66 0.000 0.715
Error 2065.47 62 33.31
Total 332503.00 65
Corrected Total 9930.06 64

From the estimated marginal means (shown in Table 3), it is seen that the two
instructional methods had different effects.

Table 3. Estimated Marginal Means

Instructional methods Mean Std. Error 95% Confidence Interval
Lower Bound Upper Bound
Traditional 60.79 1.054 58.684 62.899
Audio-visual aided instr. 78.72 1.273 76.771 80.673

We can therefore conclude that there is a significant difference between the mean
posttest achievement scores of students taught with audio-visual aided instruction and those
taught through the traditional approach. The null hypothesis one was therefore rejected.

Students’ posttest achievement scores based on teaching method and gender – hypothesis two
The information presented in Table 4 and Table 5 were used to test the hypothesis that
no significant difference exists between the mean posttest achievement scores of (a) male and
(b) female students taught with audio-visual aids and those taught with traditional method.

Table 4. T-Test Comparison of Posttest Achievement Scores of Male Physics Students based
on Teaching Method
Teaching N Mean Std. dev. t p-value
method
Traditional 17 62.06 9.69
-6.38 0.000*
Audio-visual 21 80.48 8.12
aided
*Significant, p < 0.05, df = 36

51
 Quarcoo-Nelson, Buabeng & Osafo

Table 4 shows an independent-samples t-test conducted to compare the posttest

achievement scores for male physics students. The results show that there is indeed significant
difference between the mean posttest scores of male physics students taught with audio-visual
aided instruction (M = 80.48, SD = 8.12) and those taught with traditional method [(M =
62.06, SD = 9.69); t(36) = -6.38, p < 0.05]. The magnitude of the difference in the means (i.e.
effect size) was large (eta squared computed = 0.53) (Cohen, 1988).
The post achievement scores for the female physics students were also compared using
t-test. The results are shown in Table 5. The results in Table 5 show that there is significant
difference between the mean posttest scores of female physics students taught with audio-
visual aided instruction (M = 76.64, SD = 6.82) and those taught with traditional method [(M
= 58.54, SD = 8.23); t(25) = -6.24, p < 0.05]. The magnitude of the difference in the means
(i.e. effect size) was also large (eta squared computed = 0.61). Based on the results presented
above null hypothesis two is rejected since there is a significant effect of teaching method on
all the students.

Table 5. T-Test Comparison of Posttest Achievement Scores of Female Physics Students

based on Teaching Method
Teaching N Mean Std. dev. t p-value
method
Traditional 13 58.54 8.23
-6.24 0.000*
Audio-visual 14 76.64 6.82
aided
*Significant, p < 0.05, df = 25

Discussion
The SHS students in the experimental group exhibited higher achievement than their
counterparts in the control group. Thus the SHS students taught with audio-visual aids
complementing the traditional method achieved better performance than the SHS students
taught with only the traditional lecture method. The result has established that teaching
methods were significant factors on students’ achievement in physics. The higher
performance by the students may be as a result of the audio-visual aids to provide more
concrete representations of ideas and concepts which were normally taught in abstract form in
the regular physics classes. The result of the study is in line with other studies (Mitchell &
Surprise, 1994; Okwo, 1994; Oladajo, Olosunde, Ojebisi, & Isola 2011; Osokoya, 2007;
Owusu, Money, Appiah, & Wilmot, 2010). Le Doux (1997) found that student learn better
when audio visual-visual aids are used in the instructional segment to give reality to abstract
thinking thereby making them more concrete. Evidence from the qualitative and quantitative
analysis conducted by Fillmore (2008) also suggested that student learned physics better and
performed well when taught with Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy than those taught with
conventional method.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The study has shown that when appropriate media (e.g. audio-visuals) are integrated
into the curriculum to complement the traditional method, higher learning outcomes in terms
of achievement scores would probably result. SHS students taught with the audio-visual aided
instruction achieved better than students taught with the traditional method. Performance was
significantly improved by the use of audio-visual aided instructional approach in teaching

52
 Eurasian J. Phys. Chem. Educ. 4(1): 46-54, 2012

Physics. The mean achievement scores of both male and female students were significantly
improved by the use of audio-visual aided instruction.
The study has shown that the use of audio-visual-aided instruction enhances student
achievement in physics better than the use of the traditional method at the SHS level. SHS
physics teachers should therefore be encouraged to adopt the method in their teaching. It is
also suggested that researchers and SHS physics teachers should explore the use of audio-
visual-aided instruction to teach other physics areas not covered by this study in order to
determine its effectiveness and possible adoption as a major instructional strategy.

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